RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 249 AD in Colonia, Hartwin Diefenbaker is a lowly soldier from the Alemanni tribe who, when facing defeat at the Battle of Lake Benacus, cowardly fled into the nearby woods only to be taken and experimented on by aliens.
Born in 2145 AD on the red planet Mars, Rathien is a hot-tempered, relentless enforcer for cloned Hannibal Barca’s rebellion in Neo-Carthage. Freed from hard space labour, he hides from facial recognition drones while executing sabotage and assassinations against the corrupt governor Mordax Mazar and his cronies. Known for his mercenary tactics and short temper, Rathien’s methods frequently cause problems, but his loyalty and determination make him an indispensable, albeit troublesome, asset to the cause.
Born in 358 AD in Brigantium, Spubler is a florist turned soldier who passed through a portal in the Tower of Hercules to the 12th century AD where he fought a guerilla campaign against the Moors who disavowed the cultivation of roses.
Born 2175 AD in Xi’xi’an, Mei is a renowned actress known for her ethereal beauty and roles that bridge the gap between the old world and a dystopian future. Her breakout role was The Red Citadel, a retrofuturistic thriller where she portrays a noblewoman framed for corruption in a cyberpunk empire. She followed this with Ironflower, an action epic where she plays a rebel leader using ancient martial arts to battle cyborg invaders. Now a beloved figure in global revolutionary movements, Mei keeps pushing boundaries, using her films to take bold shots at the Empire and challenge the powers that be.
Born 321 AD in Sirmium, Gisel was a lover of a young Constantius II who refused to publicly acknowledge her existence. In a jealous rage, she learned the art of war, joining the forces of Magnentius. After losing in the Battle of Mursa, Gisel was enslaved as a gladiator in the emperor’s stable.
Born in 2169 AD in Syracusae, Zino was a logistics officer in Rome’s hellacious campaign against the Dacian vampire scourge. Now a pencil-necked attorney and accountant for the profligate Governor Mazar, Zino finds himself torn between helping his old comrades uncover the grisly murder of a cyborg pleasurebot and maintaining his precarious position in the baroque society of Neo-Carthage. The stakes are even higher as suspicions point towards his employer, forcing Zino to navigate a perilous path where loyalty and self-preservation are constantly at odds.
Born 2172 AD in Petra, Salim is an itinerant lounge lizard now anchored to the tiki bar at Neo-Carthage’s Atlanta Hotel after gambling away his life savings and falling into crippling debt with the Red Sands Syndicate. Manipulated by Zalika Malika to spy on the governor and his associates, his drunkenness and ineptitude soon render him a liability, forcing him to flee underground to escape both the syndicate and the governor’s wrath. Eventually, he stumbles into the hands of the rebels, who pity his sorry state but recognize how his blunders can create unforeseen opportunities.
Born 266 AD in Basel to dimension-hopping inventors from the 23rd century, Xylon learned from his mother how to make advanced weapons, and from his father how to use them. Now he travels across space and time in search of his next fight.
Born 2159 AD in Luxor-Thebes, Tim is a battle-hardened mercenary centurion, veteran of the brutal Dacian Vampire Wars and direct descendant of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Now, he fights for the Nabataean Red Sands Syndicate, backing a cloned Hannibal Barca’s insurrection against Neo-Carthage’s corrupt governor and the cyborg Emperor Caligula. Leading a ragtag crew of gladiators and charioteers, Tim helps orchestrate the siege on Neo-Carthage, while Hannibal’s underground forces sow chaos within the city. Guided by profit, Tim’s loyalty is always to the highest bidder, making him a dangerous yet predictable player in the uprising.
Born 55 BC in Chang’an, Kai Ren is the Qin Emperor’s first daughter and ancestral brain of the Xinhan Megacorp, a hegemonic power operated by an AI hive mind. Held hostage by time traffickers in 2411 AD Neo-Byzantium, she spends her time playing ancient CRPGs and denigrating her cyborg servant jailers.
Born in 119 BC in Coracesium, Cyd was an infamous pirate king who wreaked havoc on Roman shipping until he was captured by Pompey and sentenced to fight in the gladiator pits of Rome.
Born 123 BC on the mystical isle of Læsø, Sigrid comes from an advanced tribe of wealthy salt barons with access to interdimensional travel. When not gallivanting through the future, she spends her time training champion ‘golden retriever’ canines on her remote, bucolic island paradise.
Born in 431 AD in Hippo Regius to a Vandal marauder and a Roman nun, Brunhilda was an acrobatic performer pressed into service as a gladiator after all the fighting men were dispatched to sack Rome for the 3rd time.
Born 3973 AD on an unknown planet in an unknown star system from an unknown galaxy, Ziggus emerged in the 2nd century AD to a Roman world ravaged by vampires and zombies and helped inspire the people to valour through poetry and song.
Born in 222 AD in Burdigala, Tilda grew up as a rebellious youth, often staying out all night fighting and reveling in the streets. One night she was picked up by a gang of time traffickers who pressed her into service as a gladiator in the 28th century. She made it her mission to return home to her grieving family.
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